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Analysis of stimulant drugs in the wastewater of five Nordic capitals

Analysis of stimulant drugs in the wastewater of five Nordic capitals


Title: Analysis of stimulant drugs in the wastewater of five Nordic capitals
Author: Löve, Arndís Sue Ching
Baz-Lomba, Jose Antonio
Reid, Malcolm J.
Kankaanpää, Aino
Gunnar, Teemu
Dam, Maria
Ólafsdóttir, Kristín
Thomas, Kevin V.
Date: 2018-06
Language: English
Scope: 1039-1047
University/Institute: Háskóli Íslands
University of Iceland
School: Heilbrigðisvísindasvið (HÍ)
School of Health Sciences (UI)
Department: Læknadeild (HÍ)
Faculty of Medicine (UI)
Series: Science of The Total Environment;627
ISSN: 0048-9697
1879-1026 (eISSN)
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.01.274
Subject: Nordic countries; Wastewater-based epidemiology; Amphetamine; Methamphetamine; MDMA; Cocaine; Norðurlönd; Faraldsfræði; Frárennsli; Vatn; Fíkniefni; Amfetamín; Kókaín
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/885

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Citation:

Löve, A. S. C., Baz-Lomba, J. A., Reid, M. J., Kankaanpää, A., Gunnar, T., Dam, M., . . . Thomas, K. V. (2018). Analysis of stimulant drugs in the wastewater of five Nordic capitals. Science of The Total Environment, 627, 1039-1047. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.01.274

Abstract:

Wastewater-based epidemiology is an efficient way to assess illicit drug use, complementing currently used methods retrieved from different data sources. The aim of this study is to compare stimulant drug use in five Nordic capital cities that include for the first time wastewater samples from Torshavn in the Faroe Islands. Currently there are no published reports that compare stimulant drug use in these Nordic capitals. All wastewater samples were analyzed using solid phase extraction and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. The results were compared with data published by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction based on illicit drugs in wastewater from over 50 European cities. Confirming previous reports, the results showed high amphetamine loads compared with other European countries. Very little apparent abuse of stimulant drugs was detected in Torshavn. Methamphetamine loads were the highest from Helsinki of the Nordic countries, indicating substantial fluctuations in the availability of the drug compared with previous studies. Methamphetamine loads from Oslo confirmed that the use continues to be high. Estimated cocaine use was found to be in the lower range compared with other cities in the southern and western part of Europe. Ecstasy and cocaine showed clear variations between weekdays and weekends, indicating recreational use. This study further demonstrates geographical trends in the stimulant drug market in five Nordic capitals, which enables a better comparison with other areas of the continent.

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This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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